Tool Deals Thread

evilfij

Well-known member
What about depreciation of the power screwdriver? More importantly, what about your other fine German tools? Will the final and ultimate purchase of this thread be one of those Walmart 200 piece toolkits?

If you’re willing to use the thing, you want an electric screwdriver, but not necessarily that one. As you noticed, it’s built in the form of a drill or impact driver. There are far more compact options for screwdrivers. I have a Makita subcompact impact driver and its great for construction projects or removing screws, but not what a mechanic would use.
Ha. Power tools, at least the battery powered ones, are consumables. I have all but worn out the 1/4in dewalt impact I have had for 5 years. I had been given a few cordless screwdrivers over the years, but generally hated them for work around the house and all of them died. I was eying the $20 black and decker one that takes 4 AA batteries though. I guess what Frank is saying is I have what I need. I have a 3/8 to 1/4 hex impact adaptor (when I got that or why I have no idea but it was new in the package in my box so that makes my 12v 3/8 impact a 1/4 hex driver) and a few 1/4in hex 20v impacts (one nice brushless 3 speed) and a 20v drill driver (a nice brushless small one). At this point I have so many tools it’s clearly not for need, but really for entertainment (see below). And since I only have two 12v 2.0ah batteries, rather than buying some more 12v batteries ($100 for 2 3.0ab) I figured I get a tool kit with two 2.0ah batteries and another charger for a few bucks more so I was thinking what tool I wanted.

Hence, the question (which I still don’t understand, is it just the cordless screwdriver is shorter and has a 1/4 hex as opposed to a Chuck on the drill driver?). I do probably more house projects than I do car projects these days anyway so probably the cordless screwdriver makes the most sense.

If I am honest, as far as need, I did go back and use my metrinch set today which I paid $20 for ($200 on Amazon now!) and have had for 20 plus years. It’s been through everything with me. It’s fallen in mud, it’s broken it’s 1/4in slotted bit four or five times, and I just replaced the Phillips end with a free Felo #2 “bit of thanks” from KCTool. I have used the case as a seat, every socket in it has the chrome worn off the inside, the wrenches have rust spots from where I hit them with a hammer etc. The Stanley round head ratchet I put in it to replace the stripped metrinch one (that Stanley survived me using a Land Rover jack handle on it to remove the torx from the jeep perfectly fine so it deserved the place of honor) worked great for what I was doing, and that set has lived through so much abuse I don’t feel bad hitting the wrenches with my cheapo stanley fliberglass shaft claw hammer like the old days (that the shaft on that thing is still together is amazing given that I would use the shaft intentionally to hit things as I did not have a dead blow hammer). And the end game already happened with the Gedore red set for $130 (a huge leap from Walmart, but not much, if any, more money) replacing the metrinch as my go to set. The rest is really a hoard of mostly unused expensive, but deals, tools that sit in a tool box (in lieu of a watch that would sit in the safe). I have so little free time with work, researching and buying tool deals gives me something to do when I get a few minutes or can’t sleep at night.

When I was fighting with the D90 over the weekend to reinstall the Dixon Bate tow jaws on the Mantec bumper, I used the Gedore blue 1/2in set ($90) I have at the castle rather than the red. As I saw the marks on the inside of the 24mm socket from the rusted nuts, I was a bit sad honestly but I got over it when my hand did not hurt thanks to the comfortgrip, the socket stayed on the nut, and the ratchet did not slip and cause me to smash my knuckles. :)

PS while we are on the topic, who has the best deal on 3/8 metric swivel impact sockets? Amazon gets $90 for the Sunex set and I am waiting for it to go on sale, but I could be talked into something else.
 
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erover82

Well-known member
Ha. Power tools, at least the battery powered ones, are consumables. I have all but worn out the 1/4in dewalt impact I have had for 5 years. I had been given a few cordless screwdrivers over the years, but generally hated them for work around the house and all of them died. I was eying the $20 black and decker one that takes 4 AA batteries though. I guess what Frank is saying is I have what I need. I have a 3/8 to 1/4 hex impact adaptor (when I got that or why I have no idea but it was new in the package in my box so that makes my 12v 3/8 impact a 1/4 hex driver) and a few 1/4in hex 20v impacts (one nice brushless 3 speed) and a 20v drill driver (a nice brushless small one). At this point I have so many tools it’s clearly not for need, but really for entertainment (see below). And since I only have two 12v 2.0ah batteries, rather than buying some more 12v batteries ($100 for 2 3.0ab) I figured I get a tool kit with two 2.0ah batteries and another charger for a few bucks more so I was thinking what tool I wanted.

Hence, the question (which I still don’t understand, is it just the cordless screwdriver is shorter and has a 1/4 hex as opposed to a Chuck on the drill driver?). I do probably more house projects than I do car projects these days anyway so probably the cordless screwdriver makes the most sense.

If I am honest, as far as need, I did go back and use my metrinch set today which I paid $20 for ($200 on Amazon now!) and have had for 20 plus years. It’s been through everything with me. It’s fallen in mud, it’s broken it’s 1/4in slotted bit four or five times, and I just replaced the Phillips end with a free Felo #2 “bit of thanks” from KCTool. I have used the case as a seat, every socket in it has the chrome worn off the inside, the wrenches have rust spots from where I hit them with a hammer etc. The Stanley round head ratchet I put in it to replace the stripped metrinch one (that Stanley survived me using a Land Rover jack handle on it to remove the torx from the jeep perfectly fine so it deserved the place of honor) worked great for what I was doing, and that set has lived through so much abuse I don’t feel bad hitting the wrenches with my cheapo stanley fliberglass shaft claw hammer like the old days (that the shaft on that thing is still together is amazing given that I would use the shaft intentionally to hit things as I did not have a dead blow hammer). And the end game already happened with the Gedore red set for $130 (a huge leap from Walmart, but not much, if any, more money) replacing the metrinch as my go to set. The rest is really a hoard of mostly unused expensive, but deals, tools that sit in a tool box (in lieu of a watch that would sit in the safe). I have so little free time with work, researching and buying tool deals gives me something to do when I get a few minutes or can’t sleep at night.

When I was fighting with the D90 over the weekend to reinstall the Dixon Bate tow jaws on the Mantec bumper, I used the Gedore blue 1/2in set ($90) I have at the castle rather than the red. As I saw the marks on the inside of the 24mm socket from the rusted nuts, I was a bit sad honestly but I got over it when my hand did not hurt thanks to the comfortgrip, the socket stayed on the nut, and the ratchet did not slip and cause me to smash my knuckles. :)

PS while we are on the topic, who has the best deal on 3/8 metric swivel impact sockets? Amazon gets $90 for the Sunex set and I am waiting for it to go on sale, but I could be talked into something else.

I considered getting one of these, but I'm all in on Makita, and anyway now I've got those luxury Wera screwdrivers. It might be closer to what you're looking for.

 

evilfij

Well-known member
Ha. Thank you. I thought about that one but it is the only thing with that battery and is only $20 less than the 12v cordless with two batteries and a charger. Also, I was able to find a set of Sunex impact swivels in a master 3/8 metric impact kit for $125 so I ordered that. I am going to break up the Sunex 3/8 impact socket kit I have and take the metrics to the castle.


Sunex warranties them if you take a picture and send the picture in.

PS it’s not just Wera, it’s Felo, Stahlwille, Hazet, mayhew, Klein the only ones I don’t have are Witte (they make Stahlwille) and Wiha (I have a few things they make including the 11 in 1 and the scraper handle and a stubby bit driver).
 
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evilfij

Well-known member
Back to deals:


Woot is owned by Amazon, but it’s this weird site that only has a few things (but it does have a tool section!) this gearwrench set seems like a good deal and they also have an OEM Tools kit for $60 which might make a nice trunk (or seat box) kit.

So I have determined that the difference between the cordless screwdriver and the drill driver is basically one has a drill Chuck and one has a 1/4 hex drive. There are some other things like the cordless screwdriver has three lights on the head and the drill driver has one light on the foot. Anyway, I bought the drill driver at Lowe’s for $100 with batteries. I went there to get the cordless screwdriver for $120, but even though they said they had two online, they had none. :(

So I ordered it on Amazon for $130. I should have bought it when it was cheaper. Oh well.
 

evilfij

Well-known member
More weirdness but excellent customer service from Amazon.de.

my VBW 7in pliers (Stahlwille owned company and what Stahlwille sells with green handles) showed up, or rather a set of rothenberger 10in non-quick adjust water pump pliers in bubble wrap with a VBW 7in pliers sticker on it. Amazon.de refunded my money and let me keep them. They are made in Spain (Bahco clones maybe?). Who knows. But free pliers. I rather have had and paid for the VBW obviously.
 
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evilfij

Well-known member
So curiosity got the best of me, this is what showed up in lieu of the 7in VBW. I would not buy them and the reviews say that the video teeth on the jaws are not as good as alligators, but hey, free pliers ...

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evilfij

Well-known member
I have gotten some messages here and elsewhere about “what do I need for tools on my defender (or other car).” I think this is a link to my profile with deal links (no affiliate stuff or anything)


My Instagram I am doing tool videos. I am ptstouring I am hoping to get a Stahlwille wrench video up soon. It’s NOT budget friendly to buy “all the stahl” but I bought a set of 14/15 and 14/17 and combined them into a comprehensive set of 14/21 in the big tool roll (and had some left overs obviously which themselves are a nice set).

Pretty good price on Amazon.de for the sets (it ends up being $350 for both though)


Note it says “in cardboard box” but mine came in tool rolls (which are really nice).
 

evilfij

Well-known member
So Amazon.de does not want me to have VBW pliers. The other order with the 10in pair was “damaged in transit” and returned to Amazon for a refund, an email about that would have been nice as it happened more than a week ago.

I was about to order some actual Stahlwille ones from misterworker, but I have two orders that have been sitting for almost a month.

Then I was like, let’s see what .de has. No 10in and 12in out of stock, BUT they had 7in in stock for about $20. That’s cheaper than cobras or anything else good. So I ordered three which was the limit (the spares can go in vehicles or whatever). I am a hoarder so I also ordered a set of chrome 10in cobras (had I known these existed, I would have bought these sooner and sorry about the error in my Instagram video that they did not exist), the 400mm cobras, a couple Gedore silent gear ratcheting screwdrivers (price was great and apparently they are the best of the ratcheting screwdrivers). Then some other Knipex I did not have and wanted because they are so reasonable on .de. I did pay an extra dollar for “expedited” shipping so let’s see if they get to me any sooner.


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evilfij

Well-known member
One negative review. I bought a set of tsunoda 8in duckbill pliers for $14.50. I wanted to try Japanese (why not) and I did not have duckbill pliers (which are supposedly nice for one type of hose clamp as opposed to hose clamp pliers). They are not terrible, but the machining on the joint is not perfect (it’s a bit off when open) and they are not perfectly loose opening like Knipex. Maybe I got a bad set as the reviews were glowing. Still, they are nice pliers, but they are getting kicked to the second set and I am ordering Knipex eventually I am sure. Four stars. Not crap, but not Knipex. EDIT: after ballistol (highly recommended, $22 for two big bottles and a squirter on Amazon and got a second squirter which was better from KC for $2) and a few hundred cycles they have freed up enough I no longer hate them. Still four stars.

PS I am maybe going to try channellock duckbills next, then Knipex. PPS maybe SK which are on sale for $25 on amazon but they were $17 last year. Meh. Buy Knipex. I don’t think there is anything Knipex I have been unhappy with except for one rebrand metric wire strippers and crimper.

edit: my Heuer vise may actually arrive soon!

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evilfij

Well-known member
My third misterworker order showed up. Once they ship they arrive in a few days. The bag contains the full set of ratcheting wrenches (on sale on .de now) and I got all the 3K screwdrivers (nice, and made by witte, but I still like Wera and Felo wood best). Still waiting on my 1/2 and 1/4 flex heads.

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erover82

Well-known member
Tried to warranty my old Craftsman 1/2 ratchet. Craftsman finally responded now, a week later, and directed me to call Sears. Sears directed me back to Craftsman for any such inquiries. Craftsman is replacing it for free, but with the new model, now made in China. RIP true Craftsman. I see more German, Taiwan, and maybe some UK tools in my future.
 

evilfij

Well-known member
The one good thing about the run of the mill craftsman USA ratchets is that they made so many of them you can buy them on ebay (although they do cost a fair bit, but garage sale finds etc.). There is quite a following for them and the western forge craftsman pliers (often craftsman professional black handle). Some of the rarer craftsman stuff can bring big bucks. I tossed my kobalt Williams era ratchet that was broken rather than try to warranty at Lowes. Honestly I never liked it all that much and I used the craftsman until the recent purchases.

OTOH I should say one downside of German tools is you can’t go to Lowes, harbor freight, Home Depot, Sears (or your tool truck guy) to get a replacement and they don’t warranty ratchet internals for wear or have the no questions asked. A consideration for a professional user for sure, but for me if I break one, I don’t feel bad buying a replacement.

PS S&K has crazy deals every month or so. They are starting to go mainstream more and have stuff on Amazon.
 

evilfij

Well-known member
More vise vices with deals first: the WS6 and WS8 Winston vises are on sale on Amazon for $150 and $220 respectively. These seem to be the highest rated of the Chinese vises for the price.

As much as I would like to find and buy a 250lb plus piece of American iron from 100 years ago, logistically I can’t go out and find and get one and restore it. (So jealous of Trey’s vise, I wish Uncle Doug did not leave.). So I am pretty committed to the Heuer Brockhouse Heck universe (they seem to go by all three names but they say Heuer on them) as I noted above, a 160 is in customs clearance from a seller in Germany. Let’s not go into my buying the $30 yost, it was a moment of weakness).

I also have the Hazet 2175N which the more I research I think is a rebranded Heuer 100. That I feel comfortable mounting on a toolbox/rolling cabinet as it is small (but ridiculously strong).


But, for the 160 Heuer I have coming, I need something to mount it on and even a rolling toolbox with 1 3/4in of oak is suspect. I looked at buying/making a workbench, but I don’t have the space or time. I thought about welding up a stand, but again, that’s a project I don’t have time for by the time I find the plates, drill, weld, paint and it ends up non-adjustable.

Then I found out Heuer makes a free standing mount.

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But like everything from them, it ain’t cheap (my jaw sets pack was $110 and that was .de price).


The advantage is the Amazon global saves me $163 in shipping. Let’s see if it comes back in stock so I can actually get it
 

evilfij

Well-known member
Dirt cheap impact socket set:


$42 (I paid $58 when I was looking for cheap but good enough stuff for the castle set) Can’t say I beat on them or even used them as they are in the castle set, but the case is nice enough (not cheap blow molded I am looking at you Sunex), the sockets seem fine, and although it’s an odd combo of sockets, it should get most of what you need done, done. If nothing else, the 1 1/16 and 1 1/8 deep will get Land Rover lug nuts off (sorry SI-early IIa, no 15/16ths).
 

acheck

Well-known member
Okay Ron let's talk tool storage / rolling cabinets. Fifteen years ago I had the crème de la crème Snap On KRL7022 for some years, but sold it off when moving one time and space became an issue. Since then, I've had a very serviceable (and at the time, high value) Cornwell tool cart with the flip open top and full drawers. I supplemented this with, of all things, a flea market HON filing cabinet to store shop manuals and cased tool kits. This combo was effective and definitely efficient; the tool cart I recall was maybe $700 and the filing cabinet like $25.

I've recently moved my tools/car stuff to a dedicated workshop though and an upgrade is in order. I want to centralize everything in one rolling toolbox with a heavy duty workbench top capable of mounting my vintage Columbian 4" vise.

This unit from Dragonfire (hand made in the USA) comes close to being perfect although I wish the drawer sizing was just a bit different (I'd love a file-sized drawer for books/biners/papers):

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At $4400 delivered the specs are hard to beat. It is designed to be a legitimate workbench and seems its meant to handle even a full size vise.


The other I quite like is this, by Homak. They call it the "Centralized Tool Storage" system. The upper cabinet is supported by steel beams bolted to the back of the lower cabinet, so it is completely free standing. I like the idea of attaching an LED shop light to the bottom of the upper cabinet and having an all-in-one freestanding solution.

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This is available from tons of online retailers (Summit Racing, Eastwood, etc) at approx $3400 plus truck shipping. No vendor seems to have good photos of it but there are some decent "unboxing" videos on youtube,
(shame about the dopey flatbiller though)

I'm apprehensive about this though as it seems like maybe just an alibaba type brand.

And finally on the lower end of the spectrum I've found this, made in the USA, Proto "Velocity" 55" cabinet:

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I'd just add a thick hardwood or even steel top plate to it and at $1850 with free shipping it seems to be winning the value award at the moment.

Extreme Tools also seems to have a popular low-priced tool truck style box but I just cant bring myself to buy something that has "EXTREME" on it in huge letters.

I plow through craigslist every day also looking for another KRL7022 at a fair price but most are about on par at the $3000 range, used and dinged up.
 

evilfij

Well-known member

Amazon seems to be offering random coupons on Klein products (~15%). Given how commoditized Klein pricing is (HD and Amazon usually have the lowest price, very little variation) might be worth checking if there is something that you want. I picked up some 2000 series iron worker pliers.​

 

evilfij

Well-known member
@acheck i don’t know what to tell you as I have seen none of those in person, but they look pretty sweet (except maybe the proto). I have heard good things about the harbor freight US general boxes, but for fear of buying a lot of stuff I don’t need, I have not dared set foot in a HF. They go from $500-$1200 (I dropped the upper end of that on more Stahlwille stuff today) for 44in-72in and you certainly would be fine with a 4in vise with a top (I believe HF sells tops too but I would make one) and you can get at least a 10% off coupon if you wait a bit, maybe 20%. I am looking at them as I need something for the castle. The set up I have works but is janky as can be.


Hazet has nice rolling workbenches (Stahlwille and Gedore are more like carts) but they are spendy and although I have yet to be seriously disappointed with any of my german purchases, that’s a big ticket item. I do hear they are nice. The 179 series Hazet is what I keep looking for a deal on, but I think that is smaller than what you want.

Id try to find a used snap on (or matco or mac). Once’s that are not the big boy with the hutch every mechanic has seem to sell for good prices. I can say I would never get a box without wheels. Even if my box has not moved in 10 years or however long it’s been since I built the garage, I like being able to move it if I need to. The other thing I was considering was building a custom bench and putting run of the mill boxes under it. That seems to be popular.
 
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